Mersea Island Early Weekend - Saturday

Another quietish night once the party crowd in the seasonal caravans had piped down and gone to sleep. We still had the drivers to visit the loo almost all night.  It seems that the rules, and there are a few, weren't applicable to the guy that needs the loo at 3am and needs to drive 300 yeards.

Anyway we set the alarm from 8am. We didn't want breakfast as I had a trip on the way back planned for breakfast! In the end I was up a few times with Reggie for his pee breaks.

A guy across the way decided that 6.15am was the right time to empty the garage at the back of his motorhome with all kinds of crap including a gas BBQ complete with grill, metal wheeled stand and 10kg Calor bottle! Then let his spaniel dog run around all over the place without its lead.

Once up we set to work doing the packing and I noticed that the motorhome service point had a car parked close up to it.  There's a square marked out and painted with criss-crosses, but it's hard to back into it with a car so close. As I sorted out the electricity cable etc and prepared to leave, Claire spoke to the staff nearby in their little hidey-hole. Eventually the car moved and I was able to drive on and get the waste pipe over the grid.  Whilst I was emptying the toilet cassette another car came and parked behind us.  It seems walking to the bogs is too much like hard work.

We left around 9am. The full high tide was once again before noon and given that it doesn't go from low to high in the snap of a finger, I assumed that it gradually rose... So we needed to be there in good time.  As it was the traffic in both directions over the Strood was pretty even and the mud was showing no signs of being inundated.

Our stop would be the tea rooms at Wilkins and Co in Tiptree.  They have been making jam and preserves for over 130 years.  The tea rooms didn't open until 9.30am according to the website, but we arrived soon after that to find quite a few people already munching through the full English.

Reggie had to stay in the van as he wasn't allowed inside the tea room or the shop. There was seating outside but it was a little chilly still and so we let Reggie have a pee break and then we went in leaving him with a Bonio biscuit.

We both had the full English and coffee.  It was really good.  The sausages and bacon both quality items. None of the cheap stuff here.  

Once finished and paid up we went in the shop.  Our neighbour always collects our mail from the box and we always get her a small "something" in thanks.  Claire chose a wild blueberry jam and I picked up an orange and ginger marmalade, and the tab. After we left I thought maybe whilst there we could have stocked up a bit!

For anyone touring Essex, there are other Tiptree Tea Rooms dotted around Essex and one in Southwold in Suffolk. If they are as good as this one then they are worth visiting.

I took a few photos as I took Reggie for another comfort break,  but nothing really all that good. 

Frome there it was pretty much easy going until we got towards the A12 and M25 junction. The TomTom suggested we go off through Brentwood to the M25 but gave no reason. So like good travellers we ignored it. WRONG!!!

We ended up finding the junction was closed and we were taken on a magical mystery tour along the A12 into the ULEZ zone before navigating a load of side streets until we hit the A127 towards Southend, and the M25 at the next junction south of the A12 junction.  

At the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge traffic slowed and it looked as though a car and a truck had a problem in lane 1. As we went past in lane 3 we could see a guy on the wrong side of the barrier looking down at the River Thames a few hundred feet below. Later we saw on the local news that soon after we past they closed the bridge to "assist" the young man.  

It was around 1.30pm when we started to unload the van.  We'd had a nice "weekend" away.  

If it wasn't that we have commitments on Wednesday and Thursday mornings getting away midweek would be much better than weekends and maybe even the eary-weekend we just had.

Where next?